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Final Feasibility Report
White Creek Pedestrian and Parking Study
Prepared for:
Adirondack |Glens Falls Transportation Council
11 South Street, Suite 203 Glens Falls, New York 12801
And
Town of White Creek
28 Mountain View Drive Cambridge NY 12816
Revision 2 September 2023
White Creek Pedestrian and Parking Study
FINAL
September 2023
Prepared by Barton & Loguidice, D.P.C. 10 Airline Drive, Suite 200 Albany, New York 12205
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The Town of White Creek has identified several pedestrian improvements and parking needs to be addressed near the Cambridge Community Forest (CCF) and Town Hall area including Rockside Drive and Mountain View Drive. The need for this study has developed from the expansion and increased popularity of the CCF. Currently the CCF leases a small parking lot area near Rockside Drive and Old Route 313 intersection that is approximately 1,000 ft. away from the CCF entrance. Users of the CCF will frequently park along Rockside Drive to be closer to the entrance or because they are unaware of the leased parking lot. Rockside Drive is a narrow two-way local residential roadway that does not include provisions for on-street parking. Parked cars will often block the traveled way of the roadway or encroach on the resident s lawns. This study also includes parking improvements to the nearby Town Hall with the intent to provide additional parking capacity for both the CCF and the nearby Cambridge Central School, and to improve pedestrian mobility from the Town Hall to the Nearby State Route 22. Additionally, the Town intends to install Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations at or around the Town Hall. EV charging stations for public or commercial use are categorized as Level 2 or Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC or Level 3) equipment. Level 2 stations will charge a Batter Electric Vehicle (BEV) in 4 10 hours and a Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) in 1 2 hours. The Level 3 equipment will charge the BEV in an hour and is not compatible with most PHEV s. For the purposes of this study, level 2 EV charging stations are assumed to be the most compatible with the needs of the Town of White Creek.
The study will examine the existing conditions of the project area including the Town Hall parking lot, the CCF parking area, Rockside Drive, and Mountain View Drive. This report will assess potential mitigation options to address the parking concerns as well as provide conceptual designs of the revised parking plan at the Town Hall.
2.0 INVENTORY OF EXISTING CONDITIONS
A site visit was conducted on April 10, 2023 to inventory the existing project area conditions. The inventory included signing, striping, roadway widths, existing structures, and any noteworthy features or conditions. The existing conditions of the roadways are described below as well as displayed on the existing conditions map in Appendix A. The existing roadways included as part of this study, Rockside Drive, Brookside Drive, and Mountain View Drive, are all owned and maintained by the Village of Cambridge.
2.1. Cambridge Community Forest Parking Assessment
The trailhead and entrance to the CCF is located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Rockside Drive and Brookside Drive. Currently, parking is not accommodated within the vicinity of the trailhead to the CCF. The flat berm at the trailhead entrance to the CCF that connects Rockside & Brookside Drive to the bridge over the White Creek is approximately 24 feet wide, which is not wide enough to support parking in any configuration at this location. Additionally, the available pavement width of both Rockside and Brookside Drive ranges from 19-20 feet, which is the minimum recommended by the NYSDOT Highway Design Manual for two-way travel on local residential roadways.
A small area for parking has been leased by the CCF located approximately 1,000 feet west of the trailhead on Rockside Drive. The parking lot is a grass and gravel surfaced area delineated by wooden logs and signage directing CCF users to park in this area. The area measures approximately 55 feet in length by 40 feet in width. The parking area can accommodate approximately 6-8 cars in its current configuration. However, without clear parking delineation, the lot is percieved to hold less vehicles as users tend to park their vehicles further apart when parking stall delineation is not provided.
2.2. Town Hall Parking Lot The existing parking facility surrounding the White Creek Town Hall consists of a gravel surface with two separate parking areas, one directly in front of the entrance to the town hall and a larger area to the side of the Town Hall building. The front area measures approximately 72 x 33 and the larger parking area on the east side measures 65 x 125 . There are two reserved parking spaces in front of the Town Hall for ADA accessible parking.
2.3. Pedestrian Mobility between Town Hall and State Route 22 No dedicated pedestrian facilities are present along Mountain View Drive between the Town Hall and State Route 22. There are sidewalks along State Route 22, and a marked crosswalk to cross State Route 22 to the Cambridge School Campus.
3.0 CONCEPT ALTERNATIVES
3.1. Standards
The proposed design layouts and recommendations are based on the following standards:
. NYSDOT Highway Design Manual (HDM),
. AASHTO Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets 7th ed., 2018,
. FHWA Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), 2009,
. NYS Supplement to the MUTCD,
. Empire State Trail Design Guide, October 2017
3.2. Cambridge Community Forest Parking Opportunities
Since parking within the immediate trailhead area and on-street parking on Rockside or Brookside Drive is not feasible within the existing right-of-way (ROW) and roadway footprint, additional auxiliary parking lot improvements should be considered to provide more parking opportunities for users of the CCF. One opportunity for additional parking is within the former roadway footprint and ROW of Old Route 313, which connects Rockside Drive to State Route 22. The roadway is currently barricaded off on the northern side near Rockside Drive and appears to be most recently used as a driveway to access adjacent properties along State Route 22, which have since been abandoned. The ROW of the former roadway is owned by the Village of Cambridge. A Highway Work Permit (HWP) from NYSDOT will be required for any work that overlaps onto State Route 22 or State Route 313 (Gilbert Street). The available ROW width of the former roadway is approximately 40 feet, which is enough space for one way travel operation and 45 parking stalls. If installed, traffic operation should be from Rockside Drive to State Route 22 and should contain 8-10 parking stalls. The recommended travel lane width is 14 feet, and the parking stalls should be 20 feet measured perpendicular to the edge of the travel lane to the edge of the parking surface. An asphalt pavement surface is desirable for the roadway and parking stalls to provide a durable surface and reduce the future maintenance of the roadway and parking area. Additionally, pavement markings should be installed on the asphalt to delineate the angled parking stalls. Wayfinding signage should also be installed to notify users that this area can be used for CCF parking and to direct them to the trailhead. EV charging stations should also be installed near the new parking stalls and connected to the existing utility pole for power supply.
Optional: To reduce parking along the roadways around the CCF, parking restriction signs along the roadways can be installed to limit parking for residents only. It appears that some residents may have already installed similar signs on their own on adjacent trees. All signs installed on public roadways should conform to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which states that the legend on parking signs shall state applicable regulations. Parking signs shall comply with the standards of shape, color, and location. Therefore, the Town or Village may pass a local ordinance to restrict parking along these roadways for residents only and install signs indicating that this restriction is in place. Signs shall follow the requirements of the MUTCD and should include a green outline and text that reads Resident Parking Only or a sign with a red outline and text that reads No Parking Expect for Residents . The locally placed signs on trees should be removed to not cause conflicts with the MUTCD compliant municipally owned signage.
3.3. Town Hall Parking Opportunities
Improvements to the existing Town Hall parking area should consist of formalizing the parking by adding asphalt pavement and delineating spaces with pavement markings. Drivers will typically park their vehicles further apart from others when no pavement markings are present; therefore, reducing the number of available parking spaces. If paved within the existing footprint of the gravel parking area, the new asphalt parking lot will accommodate 30 vehicles. The two existing handicap parking spaces should remain in front of the Town Hall and an EV charging station could be added to the east side of the building. Additionally, there is a large grass field to the North of the Town Hall building that could be converted to parking in the future, if the need for more than 30 parking spaces arises. See Appendix B for conceptual plans.
3.4. Pedestrian Mobility Improvements between Town Hall and State Route 22
Until recently, the Town Hall parking area has been used as an informal drop-off location for the nearby Cambridge Central School. Parents would drop their children off at the Town Hall and the Children would then walk along Mountain View Drive and cross State Route 22 at the crosswalk with the assistance of a crossing guard. However, the drop off situation recently ended, and the school is no longer providing a crossing guard at this location. The option to install sidewalks along Mountain View Drive to provide pedestrians with a dedicated walking area still exists. Providing dedicated pedestrian facilities will allow residents to access Town Hall on foot, which benefits those who choose not to, or cannot, drive. The parcel of land in the northeast corner of the intersection of Mountain View Drive and State Route 22 is owned by the Town and a sidewalk could be installed directly from the crossing of State Route 22 to the Town Hall. Additionally, new ADA compliant sidewalk ramps should be installed at the State Route 22 crossing as the current crossing is not ADA compliant. This sidewalk connection along with an extension along State Route 22 in front of the Car Dealership would provide the continuous pedestrian facility between the Town Hall, pedestrian path or parking area along the abandoned road ROW, Rockside Drive, and the CCF.
3.5. Environmental / Permitting Requirements
Preliminary investigations into Environmental and Cultural Resources and potential impacts and recommendations are included in the following discussion, along with the anticipated permitting needs. Additional detailed environmental investigations will be required during the Engineering phase, depending on the type of funding that is secured.
3.5.1. Surface Waters Review of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Environmental Resource Mapper (ERM) indicated that White Creek is a mapped NYSDEC Class C Stream with C Standards, is identified as resource PWL:1102-0026, and is a tributary of the Upper Hudson River. The ERM also indicated that the creek is listed as a 303(d) stream. No work is proposed to this stream. There are no mapped NYS wetlands located within or adjacent to the project area.
The National Wetland Inventory (NWI) mapping was reviewed to determine whether any wetland polygons are depicted within the project limits. There are no mapped NWI wetlands within or adjacent to the project area.
3.5.2. Flood Zone The 100 year flood zone of White Creek encroaches into the project area along Brookside Drive and a portion of Mountain View Drive. However, no proposed excavation work is located within the floodzone of the White Creek. See Appendix C for the Flood map.
3.5.3. Historical Resources A review of the New York State s Office of Historic Preservation s (SHPO) Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS) was completed. The review indicated that the corridor is not located within an historical district, and there are no recorded National Register (NR) Listed, Eligible buildings, or structures within or substantially contiguous to the proposed improvements. Coordination with SHPO should be progressed once the SEQR process begins and a Lead Agency for the project has been established or coordination with a permitting agency requiring SHPO coordination such as NYSDEC or USACE has begun.
3.5.4. SEQRA/NEPA Review If federal funding is obtained for the project, a review under the National Environmental Policy Act is required. The project will likely be categorized as a Categorical Exclusion. If state funding, federal funding administered by a state agency, local funding, or a permit is required from a state agency, then a review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act is required. The project will likely be categorized as an Unlisted Action and the Town of White Creek will be able to issue a Negative Declaration as the Lead Agency.
3.5.5. State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) If the excavation area of the proposed project disturbs more than one acre of land, then a SPDES permit (GP-0-20-001) and the development of a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan will be required. The proposed parking lots/areas at Town Hall and on Old Route 313 total approximately 0.4 acres; therefore, will not require a SPDES permit at this time.
3.5.6. Anticipated Permits
-NYSDOT Highway Work Permit for work within the State Route 22 and Route 313 right-of-way.
4.0 COST ESTIMATES
Preliminary cost estimates were prepared for the four project elements and also combined to show the total project costs, if pursued as one project. The cost estimates were prepared with the assumption that the project would receive funding through a federal or state grant and constructed through the traditional design-bid-build process. Federal or state grant programs typically provide funding to cover 50% to 80% of the total project costs and require engineering and construction inspection services. The total anticipated project cost is $363,000.
*The draft study currently assumes that the EV Charging Stations would be level 2 equipment and 1 would be installed at the proposed new parking area along Old Route 313 and 1 would be installed at the Town Hall.
5.0 FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
There are several potential funding opportunities that are available for pedestrian, parking, and recreational improvement projects. The Town should be aware that all the funding sources are reimbursement programs that will require the Town to expend the initial project costs and then receive reimbursements from the funding source. Most of the programs also require the local municipality to provide a portion of the total grant amount, which varies by program.
A/GFTC Make the Connection Program is available to assist municipalities with funding to improve the region s non-motorized travel network. Project types that are considered in the program include new sidewalk and trail connections, pedestrian safety improvements, and pavement marking improvements. Make the Connection funding is available through the FHWA and administered by the A/GFTC.
. 20% Local Match
. Design Only Projects have a minimum of $25,000
. Design & Construction or Construction Only Projects have a minimum of $75,000
. Federal Aid Procedures Apply
. EV charging stations are not eligible for funding through this program
NYSOPRHP Recreational Trails Program (RTP) provides funding for the development and maintenance of recreational trails or trail-related facilities. RTP funding is available through the FHWA and administered by the NYSOPRHP. RTP can be applied for through the NYS CFA that is due at 4:00pm on July 28, 2023.
. 20% Local Match
. Federal Aid Procedures Apply
. Design & Construction: Minimum = $25,000; Maximum = $250,000
. $1.9 Million available during the 2023 CFA application period
. EV charging stations are not eligible for funding through this program
NYSOPRHP Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) provides funding for the development and planning of parks and recreational facilities open to the public to preserve these lands for recreation, or conservation purposes. EPF projects can be applied for through the NYS CFA that is due at 4:00pm on July 28, 2023.
. Grant will fund up to 50% of total project cost
. Design & Construction: Minimum = $25,000; Maximum = $500,000
. $26.0 Million available during the 2023 CFA application period
. EV charging stations are not eligible for funding through this program
Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC), Catalyst Program is designed to stimulate economic growth and inspire partnerships that improve rural economic vitality across the NBRC region that includes public infrastructure and outdoor recreation projects. The 2023 application process has already passed so the spring 2024 program should be targeted.
. 100% Federal Funds (0% Local Match)
. Federal Aid Procedures Apply
. $45 Million was available during the 2023 application period
. EV charging stations are eligible for funding through this program
NYSDEC Municipal Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Grant Program is available to municipalities for the installation of Level 2 or DCFC electric vehicle supply equipment that are for public use. The 2023 program has not been announced at this time.
. Up to 80% State Funds
. There is no project minimum cost; Maximum = $250,000
. Funding may be combined with the Utility Make Ready Program
Electric Vehicle Make-Ready Program is available in White Creek through National Grid to provide municipalities with funding assistance for the construction of the infrastructure necessary (transformers, meters, electrical panel, trenching, conduit, etc.) to support the Level 2 or DCFC charging stations for public use. The charging stations can be municipal pay to park or free parking locations. Currently the program can be applied for at any time.
. Up to 90% of costs are covered
. There is no project minimum or maximum costs
. Funding may be combined with the NYSDEC Municipal Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Grant Program
6.0 PUBLIC INPUT AND NEXT STEPS
A presentation was given at the White Creek Town Board meeting on July 11, 2023 which included an overview of the proposed concept plans and a question-and-answer period. Subsequently, a draft of this report was made available for a public comment period from July 12-August 8, 2023. Given that the project area is located within the Village of Cambridge, a discussion was also held at a Village Board meeting on September 6, 2023.
From this public outreach, four comments were received. The proposed improvements to the Town Hall parking lot were well received. However, there were concerns and opposition related to several aspects of the proposed CCF parking improvements and related parking restriction signage. Most importantly, the Village Board was not inclined to restrict parking on Rockside Drive due to concerns over enforcement and setting an unfavorable precedent. The Village Board also discussed the possibility of selling the abandoned Old 313 roadway in order to promote the redevelopment of the adjacent parcel to the west. This course of action could restrict the ability to construct the proposed parking improvements for the CCF.
Ultimately, the decision to pursue any of the concepts included within this report is the purview of the respective municipality. The analysis of existing conditions and development of the proposed concepts are intended only to provide information which can be used to inform the decision making process.